WESTERN EUROPE 5 – Switzerland & Paris

Angels Everywhere @ Paris!

My trip to Switzerland was a lovely spin to hang out with a family in Geneva, Martigny, and Valais followed by a week-long stay at a 4-star luxury hotel in a Left Bank neighborhood in Paris to celebrate my 63rd birthday.

GENEVA & MARTIGNY, VALAIS (5-DAY)

Hanging out together with a 3-generation Swiss family (Jenelle, Loney, and Stanislas) was so relaxing…thermal hot spring soaks, bike riding, attending cow fighting contests, and just plain old catching up!

Cow Fighting Contests?! The centuries-old tradition: Combat de Reines (Battle of the Queens) take place regionally and nationally throughout the Valais each spring, where the female Hérens (a small, horned alpine breed of cattle weighing up to a whopping 1300lbs!) fight each other for supremacy. The territorial cows mostly lock horns and push each other with their foreheads, until one of them turns around and walk away, accepting defeat -no physical harm here. These queens take part in competitions leading to the Final that we attended in Aproz near Sion (capital of the canton of Valais).

Massive shining black beasts snort, paw the ground, daring challengers to approach, until a pair locks horns. Hand tooled decorative collars dangle a large traditional bell… jangling frantically as they engage. The crowned Queen of the queens will achieve fame in the canton but also across the nation. Fueled by local wine and raclette, the locals sure know how to have a great time!

JENELLE PETTING ONE OF MANY QUEENS

PARIS (7-DAY)

Alas, on the day of my 63rd birthday, a 3hr TGV high-speed train ride, from Geneva to Paris, was unexpectedly canceled due to a French rail strike. Alternatively, a nine-hour bus ride delivered me exhausted to the Artus Hôtel…just before midnight. The ride was surprisingly comfortable and relaxing with wonderful views along rolling French villages and some picturesque rest stops along the way.

The Artus Hôtel is in in the heart of St Germain, the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was a delightful centralized area filled with bohemian cafes, excellent restaurants and out-of-this-world delectable bakeries – all within enchanting walking distance to murals, statues, and many other artistic installations among many historic landmarks and world-class museums.